Mike Catapano

Mike Catapano Jr. (born August 17, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Princeton Tigers where he majored in psychology. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, with whom he began his career. After two seasons in Kansas City, he spent two seasons with the New York Jets.

Early life Catapano, nicknamed "the Admiral", was born the son of Mike Sr. and Barbara. He is from Bayville, New York. According to a 2013 NFL.com report by Gil Brandt, he graduated weighing a and received offers from every Ivy League school. According to the final national class of 2008 rankings, Catapano was the 18th ranked fullback by Scout.com and the 46th ranked fullback according to ESPN. His senior thesis was on visual cognition and memory. At Princeton, he developed his own catchphrase to live by: "Attack the now".

Professional career

Pre-draft nfl predraft height ft = 6 height in = 3 weight = 271 dash = 4.75 ten split = twenty split = shuttle = 4.31 cone drill = 7.09 vertical = 37.5 broad ft = 9 broad in = 8 bench = 33 wonderlic = arm span = hand span = note = All values from Princeton Pro Day on March 20, 2013. Upon being drafted, Catapano was expected to transition to the linebacker position. During the 2013 preseason, he moved back to defensive end. In Week 4, Catapano recorded a tackle against the New York Giants, his first in the NFL. In a Week 6 game against the Oakland Raiders, he recorded his first career sack.

Following the 2014 preseason, Catapano was placed on the Reserve/Non-football injury list. It was later reported that Catapano was fighting a mysterious illness that is still being researched. On September 26, 2014, Catapano was placed on season-ending injured reserve.

On September 5, 2015, Catapano was released by the Chiefs.

New York Jets Following his release, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid felt Catapano was better suited to a team that ran a 4–3 defense rather than the Chief's 3–4 defense. On September 8, 2015, he was signed to the practice squad by the New York Jets. On November 21, 2015, he was promoted to the active roster when Sheldon Richardson was injured.

Catapano appeared in 11 games in 2016 with four starts before being placed on injured reserve on December 20, 2016.

Houston Texans On August 23, 2017, Catapano signed with the Houston Texans. He was released on September 2, 2017.